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mortarboard

American  
[mawr-ter-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈmɔr tərˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

  1. a board, usually square, used by masons to hold mortar.

  2. Also called cap.  a cap with a close-fitting crown surmounted by a stiff, flat, square piece from which a tassel hangs, worn as part of academic costume.

mortarboard British  
/ ˈmɔːtəˌbɔːd /

noun

  1. a black tasselled academic cap with a flat square top covered with cloth

  2. Also called: hawk.  a small square board with a handle on the underside for carrying mortar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mortarboard

First recorded in 1850–55; mortar 2 + board

Vocabulary lists containing mortarboard

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The figure wears academic robes and a mortarboard.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2024

The actor and comedian wore a ceremonial red and black robe and mortarboard hat for the ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2022

Meza then moved the tassel from one side of Hannah’s mortarboard to the other.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2022

The letter included a 2019 letter from then-Attorney General Mike Hunter that an Indigenous student’s right to wear eagle feathers on their mortarboard is protected under the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act.

From Seattle Times • May 19, 2022

He stands proud in a blue gown and mortarboard.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.